an actual Sunday with Sun

There's a nature center with trails between Jefferson City proper and my campground. Why I decided to stop, I no longer remember. Its in the eighties and I have to pee in spite of sweating buckets. Really, buckets. I've heard that ladies glow rather than sweat, guess that verifies what I already know. First it slides down my forehead and then runs across the top of my eyebrow before dripping off the ear end. At least most of it does. Some decides to take a more direct route, sliding down my nose and taking my glasses with it. I suppose there could be humor in this – I fail to see it.

And I'm tired since I just spent a few hours wandering around the capital grounds, a museum inside and the capital building itself. The capital is impressive, Jefferson City itself is impressive. Its about the size of Mankato, MN, maybe 40,000 pop, and it must have a seamy side though I didn't find it. Start with the capital building. it looks like lots of such buildings, large-scale, pillars, statues, engraved words, big dome. This capital is on a bluff overlooking th Missouri River and its surrounded by large trees and parks. All the necessary associated building are also there, back behind the trees. 

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inside, looking at the dome

Even though I went on Sunday, the building was open. The inside is really pretty, no guards, just one woman sitting by a small display of souvenirs, and a steady stream of people visiting the museum. One area was devoted to geology. Looking at one of the topographic color-coded maps in the exhibit, it was easy to see that the Missouri River follows the same path across this state as the Minnesota River does across its' state. Kind of a duh though I hadn't picked up on it until now.

Geology gave way to settlement. Again, I was struck by something I knew but hadn't registered. Lewis and Clark came through 1804-1806. Boone's Lick was settled in 1796, that's several years before the Louisiana Purchase. And there were enough settlers here for some pretty bloody fighting in the 1850s, that's only two generations after L&C surveyed the area.

I have told myself several times that I'm focusing on the Missouri River and Lewis and Clark, however its hard to isolate them when the effects of their expedition had such impact on the land. The museum section on settlement naturally led into one on Missouri and the Civil War. I remember from my school days that the war in Missouri had been particularly destructive though I didn't remember why. After visiting Athens, I thought the fighting there was an isolated incident. It was, in its part of Missouri, however it also reflects how much of the fighting went in this state. Missouri was occupied by the Union army mostly protecting supply lines so lots of the fighting happened in communities much like Athens or by guerrilla warfare.

So I went looking for the 'bad' side of town. Instead I found Prison Brews. The old state prison is located in Jefferson City so the theme makes sense. Booths have some bars above them, are pretty well enclosed from each other and carry cell numbers. The bar is separated from the eats with a pseudo cell wall. It is an older building and whoever planned the retro-fitting did a nice job. The beers I tried are worth a second visit. Again, they were a bit sweeter than my fav Minnesota brews however they were very good. The porter is one of the smoothest I've had. Guess the brewpub could explain some of my discomfort at the nature center.

First Missouri Capitol to Current Capitol

First stop Lewis and Clark made was a few miles up the Mo River at the town of St. Charles. It was a rough trader town and neither had much good to say other than the people were friendly. These were guys who brought their dress uniforms along to impress the natives so I don't know what they were expecting at a frontier town other than friendly.

I'm guessing it was also a busy town and its still busy. Many buildings have been restored and turned into shoppes. I have nothing against towns restoring a former age and catering to people who want to visit them. Sometimes I've noticed the restorations are just a bit too restored, too tidy, too spiffed up. Sometimes I couldn't imagine a particular building looking so good when it was brand new. Oh well. Once statehood happened, Missouri had problems picking a capital (so did Minnesota). To start, the capital was in St. Charles, in the rented second floor of the general store. I like that. Lots of the founding fathers meetings were in private rooms at a tavern so a general store seems like a good place.

The Katy Trail also starts here; its the longest rail-to-trail in the country. Said trail follows the Missouri River the literature said. I looked at maps, googled it and still didn't really understand that I would only see the river as an occasional glimpse. About 2/3s of it is along the river and then the tracks, angled south. Of the part along the river I've only ridden on about 10 miles however I have stopped at most access points and read the comments about trail portions served by that access. And it all looks about the same. Sigh, naive again. The river has changed its path so many times a railroad line couldn't really be next to  it.

Guess I forgot this is the river that's a mile wide and a foot deep. Its not anymore, not really. The river is more narrow and carries less water than it did though it looks big to me. I've seen wide flat floodplains between limestone bluffs and wooded hills; more hills than I thought this part of Missouri possessed. In L&C's time there were frequent wildfires that kept the brushy growth under the trees low so the forested areas looked more like parks and the lowlands held marshy reed beds.

There are roads that follow the river on both the north and the south sides so I tried them both. Not much river viewing there either. What I did find were narrow twisty hilly roads that are fun to drive. Having X to pull Scout made them truly fun. The roads were either along the edges of the floodplain or up on the bluffs next to the floodplain so there was lots of climbing up and then climbing down.

I drove through lots of little towns and stopped at any that had any kind of signage related to Lewis and Clark. They, L&C, passed through this area about the same time of year as I am here and they too were plagued by rain; theirs made the river dangerous at times. There were trapper-trader maps of the Missouri River all the way into Mandan territory in the Dakotas so they weren't exactly blazing a new trail. They were recording what they saw in a very formal and accurate way. This Expedition is directly responsible for a half million people pouring into the interior during the next 80 years.

Hermann is an ethnically German town settled when the government started selling land, I suppose to pay for the Louisiana Purchase. Part of their heritage are grape vines. They are the folk that grafted European grapes onto hardy MO stock and started the state's wine industry. While I didn't see tulips outside of Pella, I have seen a few grape vines in lots of yards well outside of Hermann. I also scored some pecan smoked bacon that is as worthy of another visit as my Iowa cheese stop.

Now I'm a few miles outside Jefferson City, the current capital of the state. Binder Park, kept by the city, is one of the nicest parks I have stayed in anywhere. Whoever developed it must have listened to real campers. Sites are nicely shaded and well-spaced. Its on a hillside so no single trailer is lined up with any other. Toilets are within comfortable walking distance and are clean. If this park is a showcase for the city, they did an excellent job. It was pure luck that I was able to get a spot here over Memorial Day weekend so I intend to relish each day.

Finally made it to the Missouri River!

Rain and wind struck again so Wild Cat Den State Park never happened nor did some points south. Instead, I wandered generally SE to the little town of Milton where a creamery makes the best cheddar cheese I have ever eaten. Unfortunately it was closed. The Milton Creamery is run by an Amish family and Amish folk honor the Feast of the Assumption. I thought only Roman Catholics did that so I took a crash google-course on the subject. Amish are a splinter from a splinter from the Anabaptists who splintered from the Protestant Reformation. Families are keystone to Amish living and community. And, as near as I can tell they accept a personal Jesus so I guess it makes sense that they honor his mother. Anyway, the creamery was closed and the cheese is so good I went back the next day.

There is a large window into a room with a bunch of equipment in it. The man who took my money told me what I saw was a vat of milk gradually being heated to separate the curds and whey. There were large paddles gently moving in the milk keeping it from sticking and helping it heat evenly. He told me they started, I think. at 4am and usually finished around 7pm. Being Amish, the milk is organic though its not called that and did I mention the cheese is wonderful? An interesting side-note for me – I'm much less affected by lactose intolerance with their cheese.

Rain and nasty weather interlude.

A couple years ago I stopped at Shiloh and was greatly moved by the magnitude of the site. This trip I stopped at the 'dead' town of Athens, MO, a historical site, to see the northern-most battlefield of the Civil War. Athens is located within near spitting distance of Iowa and across the river from Illinois. I guess it was inevitable that a battle would take place. It was totally depressing to read of fathers and sons literally on opposite sides of the battlefield and to read of neighbor turning on neighbor. Yeah, I listened to my history teachers, I knew that was part of the Civil War. Still, its different to look at a house and see a cannonball hole going through it. (Yes, its real.)  Its different to know a neighbor a few houses away from where I was standing was grabbed out of his bed in the middle of the night because he belonged to the wrong side.

On those happy thoughts I drove to St Louis for a look at the arch. I told myself I was only going to the arch because there is a westward movement museum in its base that heavily favors Lewis and Clark. In truth, I have read so much about them and their trip none of the information was new, the arch however was. There's all kinds of things I could say about it and I expect all have been said by others. For me, the whole thing can be summed up in a few words – I could see the curve of the earth.

So, St. Louis was the jumping in place for the Expedition. They had to winter on the east bank of the Mississippi, waiting until official word reached the Spanish governor of St. Louis. That camp site has been washed into the Mississippi River so I was looking forward to seeing where they actually headed into the Missouri River from the Mississippi. Alas, the Mississippi was still running high and the road into the park was flooded. I did wade into it to see how deep it actually was. X could have made it but Scout is a bit too low. I knew without measuring it was a bad idea when a fairly large fish swam by.

Another item on my next-time list.

I'm From Minnesota – And I Like Iowa!

When I was growing up there were lots of Iowa jokes, maybe because Iowans really are nice, nicer than Minnesota-nice, real-nice.

After the snow came rain, rain and more rain. So I stayed planted where I was, hoping I wouldn't grow roots. Wrong worry. There has been 2-4 campers here and 10-20 cars of morel hunters. I hear them yelling to each other, notice them searching through the woods, hear them laughingly gloat over a find and have even talked to a few of them. Morels are sprouting after the rains and they will bring $20/lb to the successful hunter/gatherer. There have been so many of 'them' I don't understand how there can be any morels left to successfully propagate for next year. On the other hand, if I had a steak, I'd be out looking too.

When the rains quit and the sun was more than a cruel joke, I headed to Pella, Iowa. Pella has more than windows, as a matter of fact, I never drove past a window factory so I can't say for certain its even here. Fortunately I also missed the weekend tulip festival. Instead, I went on a Tuesday and there were so many doddering old people around I thought it was one of those 'senior' discount days. The clerk I asked told me to celebrate being young – that oldsters were left-over from the festival. So I looked at tulips ( they were quite pretty), took pictures of tulips and, took pictures of people taking pictures of tulips. I even visited the town's real windmill – different from the small one in the town-square visitor center a block away - where I bought flour ground there. The sack of flour I picked up was damp and when I asked, the clerk/volunteer/dedicated-mill-person told me they keep it in a freezer. Maybe next batch they will take out the previous night so the sacks can dry.

One the way back to my campground I drove through another town. Being who I am, I went looking for tulips in that town too. All I found was one small bed and it set me to wondering, are there Pella vigilantes who dig up surrounding towns' tulips?, a back-room mayors' agreement? or maybe all tulip lovers have moved into Pella? Alas, its more interesting to speculate than to know.

Rain is back however warm temperatures have stayed so today I put away my cold weather sleeping bag and made up the bed with real sheets and blankets. To further celebrate, I drove a few miles south to the town of Knoxville, IA, to sample beer at Peace Tree Brewery. When I first arrived it was the supper hour and no one else was in their bar. I don't mind having the chance to talk beer so it was fine with me. One of the owners served me a flight of their eight current beers. While he was labeling and laying them out, a couple of parents plus children dropped in. They each had children in baseball; young game over and a break before the older kids played. Parents got beers, kids got freshly brewed root beers. Being an A&W fan I almost tried the root beer too. Next stop I will. Note to beer drinkers in the Twin Cities, Peace Tree is on tap as several city locations. Their Blonde Fatale is worth trying and the Imperial Stout is, I think, as smooth as Guinness. Even though the beer is sweeter than I generally prefer, it is so good, I did leave with a 6-pack.

Now its off to bed for tomorrow beckons and Wild Cat Den State Park near Davenport  is next camp of call.

Bad News - Good News

After spending six months with mother I've become accustomed to some of her non-voiced signals (too bad I have some similar ones) so I know my leaving was hard for her however I left anyway. Unfortunately lots of the things I would have liked to do before I left didn't get done because of the cold, rainy weather we had toward the end of April. Not only did tasks go undone, packing was a total pain, literally and figuratively. So, most of the stuff was simply dumped wherever it would fit. What a mess!

Since I wanted to leave mother's house reasonably tidy, I didn't actually leave until early afternoon. And then I only went as far as the local auto parts store. New-to-me car only had a plug for U-Haul wiring and Scout has a regular trailer type plug. Good news – the parts guy was very persistent in finding a solution for me. Two hours later I was happily sitting in the parking lot wiring a plug. Yes, I did have all the tools I needed with me, even electrical tape ( they carry it at the Dollar Tree – my current fav store). Plug worked, lights worked and I headed south to my first destination, Mankato MN. Except, as I neared town, the radio told me there was close to 100% change of rain for the next two days! Been there, done that – shuffling stuff in my storage locker in the rain doesn't work for me. 

Plan B – skip Mankato and spend an extra day or two at the state park near Albert Lea. It's called Big Island, I've never been there and I had planned on having my boat done so I could play in the lake. Boat is still in-process in mother's basement. Note to self – Do Not use fiberglass epoxy inside. Bad news – house still stank of it a week later. Good news – mother's smeller has faded so she doesn't know.

Someplace in the leaving I'd missed the weatherman's entire spiel about a narrow band of hideous weather zapping places south of Minneapolis. As I moved east toward I-35 a sprinkling of snow appeared. It was rather pretty, kind of like powdered sugar dusted over the top of a chocolate sponge cake. Pretty soon there was signs that the road had been plowed. Since the snow looked really heavy, that did make some sense but I saw places that looked like drifting?

Once again I'd set the GPS to shortest route so I don't have a very clear idea of what Albert Lea is like nor is my view of Big Island particularly inspiring. Bad news – they had 10” of snow and sap froze in trees which caused branches 6-8” in diameter to snap like twigs. Bad news – the roads were barely plowed in the park and camping spots buried. Good news – X, the car, has a 4-wheel option or I would still be stuck there.

I talked to the park hosts. One left in the middle of the night after the electricity in his campground went out. There are were so many branches down he couldn't get back in though he tried, cause that's when I talked to him. The other host is the one who actually measured the snow. He told me there had been 40 mph winds and some highways had drifted shut. Fortunately his campground is has open sites with trees back from the road so the downed branches didn't shut it down. Bad news – the park is expensive. Good news – the park was empty, electricity was on and my heater works so I stayed on the road and Scout was fine for sleeping.

Plan C – skip Forestville, MN, skip Decorah, IA and go directly to Dubuque IA. One of the guys told me St. Charles, IA had more snow than the park so come morning, I headed south on I-35. Parts of the interstate was only one lane and when I tried to head east, the wind was so strong every little icy spot shifted me toward the edge of the road. Bad news – roads were treacherous. Good news – X has 4-wheel drive!

On-the-Fly Plan – there was snow all the way to Des Moines. The Des Moines River is just south of the city and its been dammed, maybe damned, into Red Rock Reservoir. Where there is a reservoir there will be camping, in this case Elk Rock State Park. I crossed the river and magically, no snow! So I stopped. Because instead of snow I now had RAIN!!!. It rained all afternoon, it rained all the next day, it rained all morning of another day. Then there was sun! And warm temperature!

Yesterday was sunny and warm all day, so sunny and warm one of the park guys mowed grass. The robins are crazy, some wild plums are blossoming and the park is nearly empty. I'm staying awhile, long enough to tidy Scout, tidy X and smell the dandelions ( they too are blooming).